Formal expression of interest has been made, no statement of collaboration signed
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is formally interested in establishing a national urban park in Ottawa, CBC News has learned.
Exactly where is not yet clear. In documents obtained by CBC this week under access to information legislation, all references to a specific possible location have been redacted.
In a statement Thursday, the NCC would say only that it's in Ottawa.
Land currently owned or controlled and managed by the NCC in Ottawa includes the Greenbelt encircling the inner urban area, much of the Ottawa River shoreline from Britannia to Orléans, lands along the Rideau Canal, and smaller green spaces like McCarthy Woods, Hampton Woods, Vincent Massey Park and Confederation Park downtown.
Urban parks improve water, soil and air quality, reduce temperature, noise and pollution, and improve quality of life and well-being for residents, Parks Canada says.
The federal government is trying to create a network of such parks across the country. Potential sites must conserve nature, connect people with it and help reconcile with Indigenous peoples.
Work is already underway on six sites in Winnipeg, Halifax, Windsor, Ont., and Saskatchewan, and around Edmonton and Victoria.
The current goal is 15 such parks by 2030, modelled after the first created in 2015 in Toronto — the Rouge.
'Another shield to help us protect against pressures'
It's unclear from the documents exactly when discussions began about a national urban park in Ottawa.
In a March email from NCC strategic planning director James Yang to Parks Canada about starting discussions, Yang mentioned the Greenbelt as an example of green space the NCC protects and preserves.
He also wrote that there's "a great amount of alignment and consistency between NCC's mandate and the goals of the National Urban Parks Program, which we would like to work with you and leverage."
Undated and unsigned pages of handwritten NCC notes from sometime before Jan. 14 state that such a park would be "another shield to help us protect against pressures, municipal developments, etc."
The "objective is to give it another layer of [protection]," the notes continue.
The NCC's ecologically sensitive Mer Bleue Bog, which is part of Ottawa's Greenbelt, seen here in 2016.
Possible hiccups
The NCC's long-range planning and design department was asked to weigh in on the idea. In April, it said the program provides "risks and opportunities" for the NCC, according to the documents obtained.
Implementing such a park "poses many questions of governance, management, reporting, and accountability," and would be "a departure from current practices," the department's response states.
Some geographical limit and land use considerations were redacted.One possible concern includes that all land/water uses, infrastructure projects or development would have to be "consistent with the objectives of the park" or be "vital to the function of the urban area."
Another issue is that "there is no dedicated role of representation for indigenous peoples in the NCC's governance structure," meaning that "some new form of oversight" for park lands would have to be created, according to the department.
A central tenet of the national urban park program is Indigenous reconciliation, which Parks Canada says will be achieved by recognizing and respecting Indigenous rights, fostering Indigenous stewardship and leadership, sustainable harvesting/gathering and traditional uses, training and career opportunities and more.
What next, if anything?
The next step in the process would be signing a statement of collaboration with Parks Canada. After a statement of collaboration, there would be a pre-feasibility stage, a planning stage, a designation stage and finally, implementation.
But nearly five months after the NCC's formal expression of interest, the parties have not signed a statement of collaboration, according to Thursday's statement from the NCC.
"More discussions with stakeholders and partners will be required should this proposal progress further," the NCC said.
In its own statement issued Friday, Parks Canada wrote it has "engaged in preliminary, exploratory conversations regarding the possibility of a national urban park in Ottawa."
"This has been an initial exploration and not a formal discussion. No other organizations, including the City of Ottawa and Indigenous partners, have been formally approached about this potential idea. No decisions have been made at this time," the statement continues.
If a park on NCC land goes ahead, it would be the first federal property to become a national urban park, the released documents show.
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